Environmental groups call for release of coal ash sites

Several environmental groups have joined the effort to force the federal government to reveal the locations of 44 “high-hazard” sites where coal ash is stored around the country.

The Environmental Protection Agency officials have said they have been told by the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that the list of sites cannot be released because of national security concerns.

Last Friday, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., chairwoman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, called on the agencies to release the list.

On Thursday, the Sierra Club, Earthjustice, the Environmental Integrity Project, and Natural Resources Defense Council formally asked the EPA to release the locations.

The “high hazard” designation means that if the storage facility failed people are likely to be killed.
The debate over coal ash storage was prompted by the massive spill last December at the Kingston coal-fired plant owned by the Tennessee Valley Authority. A retaining wall collapsed spilling coal ash sludge across hundreds of acres.

“People have a right to know if mountains of toxic coal ash are threatening their communities so they can take action and put pressure on their local utilities to demand clean up,” said Bruce Niles, director of the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign.